Teammates
by Turquoise Quill
Summary: James is offered a position on Teddy's Quidditch team. But how can he stay focused on Quidditch if Teddy's around?
1. Invitation

As always, the characters are not mine, they belong to the wonderful JKR :)

Enjoy!_  
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_Dear Mr. Potter, _

_I would like to personally congratulate you on a fantastic catch last night; it most definitely made watching in the pouring rain worth-while. I have come to the conclusion that you are an extremely talented seeker and your passion for the game is astounding. _

_For these reasons, I'd like to take the opportunity to offer you the position of seeker on the English Quidditch Team. As I'm sure you're aware, the Quidditch World Cup is in a year's time, and I would like to give our team the best chance possible of winning; and I firmly believe that that involves acquiring you as our seeker. _

_I sincerely hope that you consider this offer. I'd be more than happy to arrange a meeting with you in which we could discuss all the details. Please send a reply owl within one week's time. _

_Congratulations once again, _

_Colton Brunsworth_

_Coach and Scout of the English Quidditch Team_

James hands were shaking as he reread the letter. Colton Brunsworth wanted _him_ as the seeker for the English team?

It was the morning after the Quidditch Championship, and James' team – the Chuddley Cannons (which had made a considerably radical turn-around since his father's day) had won after he spectacularly caught the snitch. The owl that had delivered it had woken him up. He had been out partying with team until quite late, but the letter had him forgetting that he was tired. He stared at the it; the news of an offer to play for England still hadn't quite sunk in. He decided that the best course of action was to floo to his parents' house to ask his family what they thought of the ordeal. Without bothering to put any clothes on over his pants, he rushed to his fireplace and called out his old address while still firmly clutching his letter.

He tumbled into his parents' house. No one was in the living room so he headed into the kitchen where he could hear his family having breakfast. His mother spotted him first and although surprised, a wide grin spread on her face. Before she could even utter a greeting however, James spoke up.

"Mum! Dad! Look at this!" James cried, shoving the letter into his father's hands and sliding onto a chair beside Lily. Ginny and Harry bent over the letter and read in silence.

"What is it James?" Albus asked curiously, watching his mother's jaws drop and his father's eyebrows attempt to touch his hairline.

"I've been offered a place on the English Quidditch team" James mumbled, grabbing a piece of toast. He still thought it was too good to be true.

Albus' jaw mimicked his mother's and Lily, who had remained silent and half-asleep until James' revelation, looked up.

"You're _joking!_" Lily said, eyes wide and trained on her brother.

"No, he's not," Harry laughed.

James looked to meet his father's eyes. Harry was positively beaming and Ginny rushed to hug her son.

"James, we're so proud of you!" She gushed.

Harry joined the hug as well. "If you don't mind James, I'd like to come with you when you meet the coach."

"Of course Dad." James said, unable to stop smiling.

Albus reached across the tabled and cuffed him on the head "That's bloody brilliant mate, congrats."

Lily even got up to hug her brother. "You better introduce me to all the hot blokes on your team, yeah?" she joked, receiving an affronted look from her father.

The family soon fell into excited chatter about the general highlights of the Championship game, the after-party that only Albus was allowed to attend and of course, the new prospects for James.

Suddenly, Albus spoke up "Oi! You've got to tell Teddy! Isn't he on the English team?"

"Of course! I can't believe we forgot! He was scouted last year, as one of their beaters! Lily, run and invite him over through the floo, won't you?" Ginny said excitedly "This is going to make him so happy!"

As Lily got up and walked to their fireplace, James smiled. He didn't see Teddy Lupin too often; with both of them on separate Quidditch teams, their practices and games rarely allowed them time to catch up. The last he had seen Teddy in person had been Lily's birthday, three months ago.

"He's on his way" Lily said, returning to the kitchen and sitting down again "he was just finishing his breakfast, lucky I caught him before his practice."

"Oh, I hear him now" Harry said and moments later, a tired looking, turquoise-haired Teddy had strolled into the Potter kitchen.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, concerned, noticing that all the Potters were present. "Lily just said that you had something to tell me?"

"Nothing's wrong mate. But we've got news about your Quidditch team" Albus supplied, grinning at his brother.

Teddy just stood there looking confused, while the Potters chuckled around their table.

"Take a look at this Teddy" Harry said, handing over James' now slightly crumpled letter to his godson.

Teddy skimmed the letter quickly. Suddenly his hair went from turquoise to bright red. "No bloody way! You're on my team?!" He yelped. He dropped the letter and pulled James off of his seat and into a bear hug. "Congratulations Jamie, this is going to be fantastic!" He released James who was laughing and nodding giddily.

"You're on my team." Teddy repeated, seemingly unable to believe the news.

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_Hello! This idea has been floating around my head for a while now, and I'm far from finished it. I shall try my best to add more chapters to it as often as I can, but please forgive me if I take a little while. Thanks for reading!  
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	2. The Contract

A week after James had received his letter; he and his father were walking towards a posh office building. It was a muggle building, but Brunsworth had assured them that his office was expertly hidden within. In fact, the 13th floor (which the muggles thought was simply skipped in the numbering) was home to many wizard offices.

"I still can't believe this." James had said as they walked into the elevator.

"This is truly amazing James, I just hope that the contract will be favourable" Harry replied

They reached the 13th floor and a secretary greeted them very enthusiastically, and walked them to the appropriate office. The coach stepped outside to greet them.

"Welcome! Come and in sit down!" Mr. Brunsworth said, ushering them into his office, "An honour to play host to both of you fine gentlemen" he beamed at both Potters. They allowed themselves to be led into Mr. Brunsworth's office and settled into the plush seats as he began serving them tea. Colton Brunsworth had played Quidditch for 20 years before retiring from playing the game and taking up being a coach. The English team needed one desperately, and when they got to the quarterfinals the first year Brunsworth had taken over the team, he was immediately recognized as someone who knew what they were doing.

"Thank you sir" James said, taking the cup from the man.

"I'm so happy that you decided to meet me! We've got a lot to discuss."

The Potter men both nodded.

"Now, firstly, you'd be making double the amount of galleons you made with the Chuddley Canons" he stated simply, watching for James' reaction. James did not flinch though his insides were churning.

"Secondly, we'd like you to live at the team residence. I'm not sure if you know this, but because our team trains at a Quidditch center and sometimes, at a muggle gym, we live in Derbyshire. It's away from commotion, you can visit home once a week, and people cannot spy on our training because of charms we've put up, over and around the pitch. Another reason for all living together is teamwork. By living together, the bonds and friendships translate well onto the pitch."

James stomach lurched. Not only would he be playing internationally, he'd get to LIVE with the team? He glanced at his Dad who had a small smile on his face, and winked at James when they made eye-contact.

"Of course, you'd be allowed time off training to visit home at Christmas and you are permitted one other week as long as it is two weeks before playoffs start. I'd actually love to show you the house today, if you're both willing to apparate there with me." Colton paused and following his dad's lead, James nodded to his coach.

"Before we set out however, I'd quickly like to go over the contract. You'd be signing on for one year. That means that you are not allowed to leave our team until after the Quidditch World Cup. After that, although we'd be happy if you stayed on with us, you will be presented a new contract and it is up to you whether or not you'd like to sign on for another year. Of course, injury is a valid reason for breaking the contract, as is personal issues, but I hope neither will interrupt your year with us."

With that, handed Harry a folder with the contract in it.

"I'll allow you both to look over that, and take you time. The sooner it is signed, the sooner you can move in with the team. How would you like to see the living and training quarters now?"

"I'd love to!" James said, unable to contain his excitement.

They apparated to a marvelous bungalow. He could see the pitch from where they were standing on the front steps, and small dots zooming around doing drills. His Dad clapped him on the back and they both followed Brunswoth into the house.

"This is fantastic!" James breathed, as he stood in an expensive-looking kitchen.

"Glad you think so! There are two floors. This one is just common area. A kitchen, sitting room, and a study. Upstairs there is another common room between two staircases which lead to the boys and girls sleeping-quarters respectively. You'll have your own room, but will be sharing a bathroom with one teammate. It's a Jack and Jill bathroom, which means it has two doors, and if they're both left open, can serve as a hallway between the rooms. Of course, when you're in there, all you have to remember to do is lock both doors and you're assured privacy. I believe the current free room is the one connected to Theodore Lupin's. He's a brilliant beater and a nice bloke, I'm sure you'll get along."

James and his dad smirked, yet neither of them spoke up about their knowing Teddy.

"Now, seeing as there are three girls on the team, I recognize that relationships may ensue, and though I do not encourage it as it has the potential to ruin games and team-dynamic, I do realize that this is likely when you set a load of fit people together. Let me assure you that I will do whatever is necessary to help our team win, and if that means eliminating people from our team because of tension they're causing, it will be done."

James nodded solomly, he hadn't even gotten a chance to think about possible romance, he was still thinking about how he and Teddy would be sharing a bathroom. And how oddly excited he was, despite the fact that it could easily play host to many awkward situations.

After the tour of the house, Brunsworth led Harry and James to the pitch and training facilities.

"Here's our pitch, as I mentioned, there are some very powerful charms set up around them for security purposes," he said plainly.

James wondered silently if anyone had ever tried to spy on the English team.

"And, I don't know if you can see from back here, but right behind the spectator stands on your left, there's a muggle gym that we train at three times a week. I believe the team has moved in there for now."

James stood on the pitch and just stared in awe, hardly listening to his coach-to-be talk about. He knew that he had to sign that contract, and he was determined to be the best seeker the English team could have asked for.

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_Sorry that this took so long to put up! I wanted to upload both this chapter and the next at the same time, so I held off, but I haven't been able to finish #3. I will get it up as soon as I do, and it will definitely get the story started :) Thanks for reading!  
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